Holder for containers of radioactive material



w. KARP 3,428,281 HOLDER FOR CONTAINERS OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL Feb. 18, 1969 Filed Feb. 24, 1967 INVENTOR. WILL/AM KARP ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention described by this disclosure is a holder for bottles that contain radioactive material. The holder is made of a material that has a high atomic weight such as lead and is shaped to provide an effective shield against radioactive hazards for laboratory personnel working in the vicinity of the container. The use of high atomic weight material also assures that the holder will remain upright, and a secure gripping means on the holder also assures that bottle tipping will not occur within the holder. The gripping means further prevents bottle rotation or other bottle motion when the bottle cap is rotated or otherwise moved. |A slot in the holder permits the viewing of the bottle contents by reflective viewing means, without exposure of personnel to radiation hazards.

[BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates generally to the safe temporary storage of radioactive materials for laboratory use. It relates more particularly to a holder in which bottles that contain these materials can be easily and securely stored, shielded, viewed, and removed by laboratory workers.

Description of prior art Radioactive materials, and particularly radioactive liquids in containers such as bottles, usually are completely enclosed in shielded holders for long term storage, and are partially and inadequately enclosed in laboratory holders for short term storage when in laboratory use. Typical liquids that are stored in this manner are isotopes such as iodine 131, phosphorous 32, cesium .137, and cobalt 60, in aqueous solution. These holders usually are not tip-resistant, and the spilling of radioactive liquids by workers presents a serious radiation hazard. Furthermore, the holders do not have optimum or even preferred shielding configuration for the protection of laboratory workers. Present laboratory holders also serve only as receptacles, and do not lock the bottle securely in the holder. When these present holders are used, two pairs of tongs are required to open the bottle securely in the holder. When these present to prevent the bottle rotating with the cap. This two-tong operation is also conducive to spilling the radioactive contents of the bottle.

SUMMARY This invention contemplates a holder that has a significant tip-resistant capability, both for the holder-bottle combination and for the bottle within the holder. It also provides a preferred shield configuration for the protection of laboratory workers from radiation, and yet retains suflicient shield openings for either direct or indirect viewing of the liquid level in the bottle. it further provides a clamping means to prevent rotation or other movement of the bottle within the holder. This permits the laboratory worker to remove the bottle cap, and then to remove the opened bottle, with a single pair of tongs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The novel features of the invention, together with further objects and advantages, will become apparent from the following detailed description and the drawings to which it refers. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the holder according to the present invention;

\FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the holder taken on line 2-4 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated by the drawings that show a holder body 1 5 that is symmetrical about section Q2, with a well therein adapted to hold a container of radioactive substance; a locking bar 22 that presses against the container to prevent motion of the container relative to the holder; a thumb screw 19 to tighten the locking bar against the container; and a reflective surface 27 for indirectly viewing the container through slot 21 in front face 1 1 of the holder body.

The holder has a hat base 20 tor resting on a table or laboratory work bench, flat top faces 13 and 14, and a slanted top face 17, resulting in a configuration that provides ellective shielding against radiation for persons in the laboratory work area behind rear fiace 12. The container of radioactive material rests on interior base 34, and makes contact with interior face 33 and its oppo-site face across section 2-2. The locking bar '22 has a protrusion 18 that is inserted into threaded hole 35.

-The reflective plate 27 is secured to the front face 1 1 by hinge 2'3, with the first hinge plate '24 being secured to front face 11 of the holder by screws 25 and 26, and the second hinge plate 28 being secured to reflective surfiace by screws 29 and 30. Eye bolt 31 is screwed into threaded hole 32 of reflective surface 27.

In use, the holder 15 is placed on a shelf or bench in the laboratory area, with the flat vertical tnont face 11 being oriented in a direction opposite to the laboratory working area, and with reflective surface 27 being substantially parallel to the flat vertical front face .11. The reflective surface 27 is moved to a substantially horizontal position by pulling on eye bolt '31, so that slot 21 can be observed by viewing the reflective surfia-ce over slanted top face 17. Thumb screw 19 is loosened, and locking bar 22 is inserted into threaded hole 35 and is pushed against flat vertical interior faces 36 and 37. A bottle containing a radioactive substance is inserted by the use of tongs into the holder, until it rests on interior base 34. The thumb screw 19 then is tightened, pressing locking bar 22 against the bottle and thereby securing the bottle in the holder. The laboratory rworker then is shielded from the radioactive contents of the bottle. Furthermore, the worker can view the contents through slot 21 by looking over the top of the slanted top face 17 into reflective suriiace 27, without being subjected to significant exposure from the radioactive contents of the bottle. The weight of the holder, provided by the use of high atomic weight material in its construction, combined with the clamping action of locking bar 22, provides sufficient bottle motion resistance to enable the laboratory worker to remove the bottle cap with a single pair of tongs, and then to remove the bottle with the tongs by loosening thumb screw 19.

What is claimed is:

'1. A holder tor bottles containing radioactive liquids comprising:

(a) a block of high atomic weight material;

10b) said block having a well extending from the top thereof to the vicinity of the bottom said block;

(c) said block having a slot in the front face there o-f extending into the said AWCH;

(d) clamping means to secure objects that are inserted into the said well; and

(e) reflective viewing means to observe the contents of bottles inserted into the said well without subjecting the observer to line-of-sight exposure to the contents.

2. A holder as described in claim 1, with the rear portion thereof extending upwardly substantially above the front portion.

3. A holder for bottles containing radioactive liquids comprising:

(a) a block of high atomic weight material;

'(b) said block having a well extending from the top thereof to the vicinity of the bottom of said block;

(c) said block having a slot in the front face of the said block extending into the said well;

(d) a clamping device comprising a threaded hole extending from the rear of said holder into the well, a thumb screw threaded into said hole, and a locking bar adapted to secure a bottle in place in said well, said locking bar having a protrusion into said hole for engagement with said thumb screw whereby turning of said thumb screw is adapted to move said locking bar into clam-ping relation with the bottle;

and

'(e) reflective viewing means to observe the contents of bottles inserted into the said well without subjecting the observer to line-of-si-ght exposure to the con-tents.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/ 1965 Forsstrom FOREIGN PATENTS 1847 Great Britain.

20 FRANCIS K. ZUG-EL, Primary Examiner.

U.S. C1. X.R. 

